sndmn11
WKR
I don't keep hides, why should I eat my tag? That's just seems like a rude statement. There isn't any mention that I can see in the Colorado regs that states that hides are to be salvaged. In fact it states that to remove the hide (among other things) without salvaging the carcass is a felony but not vice versa. And the tag needs to stay with the meat until it is processed and consumed. I see a recurring theme that the hide is not the important piece of the puzzle.
The two questions I had on my mind were the same ones you had. I have no interest in keeping a hide, a family member of mine said they would take and have it tanned for their cabin if it were cinnamon or blonde and large. I called my CPW Officer customers with two and a half questions: 1) Since EOS requirements state "4. If a carcass is cut in pieces or deboned, evidence of sex needs to be attached to a quarter or another major part of carcass. All portions must be transported together.", is the hide with head "another major part of the carcass"? My hope was yes so that I could leave penis/testicles/vulva attached to that and it would be a simple thing. I was told no, the hide with head was not "another major part of the carcass". 2) Since there is no requirement to keep and tan the hide, can I throw it in the dumpster? If so, can a 1' x 1' piece of the hide be brought for the seal? The answer was a quick yes to both. The only relevance the hide has is for the seal that is supposed to deter illegal selling of furs/animal parts. This solved my problem of not having any experience in skinning a whole hide out, while leaving EOS attached to a quarter. That is something I have not even considered on any other animal I have field dressed, so I asked a few questions about that to make sure I was on the right track, and then assumed once hands on it would be apparent.
There is no regulation or law mandating presentation of the whole hide, and there is no regulation or law requiring EOS to be on the hide. EOS rides with the meat and it was explained to me that "another major part of the carcass" was referring to folks who might split an animal or leave whole rather than quarter.